By David Beers

When solving a lack of wheels, the first option to my mind is car rental. Most of us are familiar with renting a car at an airport. However, this option is also available in our area.

In Torrington, there are two national car rental chain businesses: Enterprise and Hertz. Both offer the service of delivering you to and from the car rental office if you live in the Torrington area. Unfortunately, Norfolk is not considered part of the Torrington area. Both businesses are located on East Main Street and both are open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m on Saturday. Neither charges for the mileage driven (aka unlimited mileage). They do differ on the rates, though. Enterprise charges $60 for a day with a small car and Hertz charges $68 for the same. These prices include tax. Larger vehicles cost more, and discounts are given for longer rental terms and booking early.

In the other direction from Norfolk, Watsons Automotive on Route 7 in Sheffield offers car rentals for local trips only. Local means the car needs to stay within a 50 mile radius of Sheffield. They offer a day rental for $53 (includes tax) and this price is discounted for longer rentals. They do have a 75-mile-per-day driving limit. Their hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day.

While it may seem like overkill to drive a U-Haul truck around to do your grocery shopping, this is also a rental option. As you know, Norfolk Storage and Supply is just to the east of town on Route 44. They are a U-Haul dealer that offers a variety of moving truck and van rentals. Their smallest rental is a cargo van that costs $20 per day (before tax) along with a $0.59 per mile charge. Rather than having someone drive you 35 miles and 45 minutes roundtrip to get a rental in Torrington or Sheffield, you could just do a short drive, bike or walk to get a U-Haul van for the day or week. Norfolk Storage and Supply is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday and Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday thru Thursday. You can use the U-Haul website to pick up a vehicle during closed hours.

This is the third in a series of short articles about transportation alternatives in Norfolk. Photo by David Beers.